Figure 1.--This unidentified family snapshot shows three boys wearing knickers. The two older boys wear neckties, the younger boy hs a floppy bow. They look about 5-10 years old. They all wear darl long stockings. The snap shot was taken September 11, 1916.

Knickers did not become popular as a boys' garment in America until after the turn-of-the 20th century. It was straigt-leg knee pants were commonly worn by boys in the late-19th century and this continued after the turn-of-the century. Even through the 1900s, knee pants were more common than knickers we do begin the see boys wearing knickers. American boys did not begin to wear knickers extensively until the late-1900s when knickers began to replace knee pants. Knickers in America became almost universal for boys in the 10s. This was a fashion shift that did not occur in Europe. Until this development there was considerable similarity between American and European (especially British) boys' fashions. We are unsure at this time just why America and Europe diverged at this time. Knickers-like breeches were adopted by the new U.S. Scout movement rather than short pants which Scouts in other countries wore. Knickers by the 1910s were the dominant style for boys. We see both younger grade school boys wearing knickers as well as older boys of highschool age. Not all boys wore knickers. Many younger boys wore knee pants outfits. Tunics were still popular and worn with bloomer knickers. Older boys wore long pants, but this varied from family to family. Most boys wore long stockings with knickers, commonly black long stckings. During the summer many children went barefoot.

The 1900s

Knickers did not become popular as a boys' garment in America until after the turn-of-the 20th century. It was straigt-leg knee pants were commonly worn by boys in the late-19th century and this continued after the turn-of-the century. Even through the 1900s, knee pants were more common than knickers we do begin the see boys wearing knickers. American boys did not begin to wear knickers extensively until the late-1900s when knickers began to replace knee pants. This change seems to havevbegun about 1908. We do not know, however, just who are what was behinf this fashion change. Knickers in America became almost universal for boys in a very short period of time. They became nearly universal for most school age boys by 1910 . What seems remarkable is how rapidly knee pants were replaced by knickers. In only a few years a style, namely knee pants, which had dominated boys' fashions for several decades was replaced by knickers which we did not commonly see in the 19th century or even early-1900s. We do not fully understand the fashion process involved. We do not think that boys had a great preference for knickers. This seems to be a change engineered by the fashion industry. We would be very interested in any insights that readers may have on this This was a fashion shift that did not occur in Europe. Until this development there was considerable similarity between American and European (especially British) boys' fashions. We are unsure at this time just why America and Europe diverged at this time. Knickers-like breeches were adopted by the new U.S. Boy Scout movement (1909) rather than short pants which Scouts in other countries wore. While knickers appeared at the end of the decade. Hosiery and footwear were unchanged from the 1890s. We continue to see long stockings, mostly black long stockings. nd high-top shoes continued to be the srandard, lthough we begin to see laceups replacing button shoe. Basic trends can be observed in school portraits. The clothing details are not as clear as in individual portaits and snap shots, but basic trends can be ascertained.

The 1910s

Knickers by 1910 at the onset of the decade were the dominate style for school age American boys. The change from knee pants to knickers occurred largely in the late 1900s. The change from knee pants occurred very rapidly. And it affected boys of a wide age range. A good example of a younger American boy wearing knickers is Grant Fahvenbach who had his First Communion portrait taken about 1910. But like knee pants, knickers were widely worn by even younger boys of highschool age. Here we do not see as old as the boys who wore knee pants in the 1900s, but younger teenagers commonly wore knickers throughout the decade. The knickers boys wore like knee pants mostly wore at knee length as can be see here (figure 1). Knickers were the dominant type of pants for American boys during the 1910s, but not all boys wore knickers. Younger boys mostly pre-school, but some also some boys in the first primary (elemenatry ) school grades might wear other garments. Many younger boys wore knee pants outfits. Tunics were still popular and worn with bloomer knickers. Older boys wore long pants, but this varied from family to family. One thing which did not chnge was hosiery. Most boys wore long stockings with knickers, commonly black long stckings. During the summer many children went barefoot. Footwear did change in the 1910s. We no longer see button shoes. We continue to see high-top shoes, but lace-ups. And we begin to see low-cut shoes more commomly, althogh high-tops still dominated. Basic trends can be observed in school portraits. The clothing details are not as clear as in individual portaits and snap shots, but basic trends can be ascertained.

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[The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s] [The 1950s]

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[JBlouses] [Ties] [Bows] [Knickers] [Long stockings] [Shoes]

Created: August 2, 1998
Last edited: 3:01 PM 8/19/2017